Empress of Dirt

Self-Portraits: The Girl In The Garden Mirror

2012-02-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

While sorting through old blog posts, I started gathering the self-portraits I've posted over the years. Some of them happen because of the number of mirrors in my old garden. Here's what I've found so far. I know there's more...

Never underestimate the genius of the slimming overhead shot.

This was my shady side garden with my beloved delphiniums. They grew double headed and I sure wish I had seeds from them now.

Again, shoot from overhead and ye chins shall be merged.

Toledo Museum of Art. Free admission. Gorgeous art. We loved it. Though this fish, um, well...

I remember it was so cold I regretted taking my mitten off to take the photo. But we must endure these things for our art, no?

Blue glass in the winter garden somehow gets me through all the other seasons surrounding delphinium season.

Ow. And double ow. I believe I was wrestling raspberry canes. I recovered and demanded a rematch.

My Greta Garbo phase.

I never got a good shot of this mirror. I liked how it looked from the road but good luck getting a good photograph of it. (Amateur photographer ~~excuse~~ complaint.)

During our wild wall painting phase.

Clearly there are no flowers in this photo.

My eyes are extremely light-sensitive, hence the gangsta glasses. I sometimes even have to wear them in the house!

I like webcam shots. They erase sunspots and wrinkles.

Everytime I see this photo I remember how much I like the peanuts with the chocolate coating.

Xmas. I am one of those people who really does not like the whole xmas season. I like winter itself, but not the noise and obligations of it all. Here's my pitiful confession. Bring your hankies.

At Windsor Castle with my mom. Best trip ever (England). I want a do-over!

Baa ha ha! Does my nose look big in this picture?

To be continued...so long as there are gardens.

linky dinks #110: Herding Cats and Jumping Foxes

2012-02-10T05:00:00.000-05:00

Hello my dear lamb bellies,

How does this day find you? I hope you are well.

I've been working hard on a lot of writing and spending time spring cleaning this blog. Some might call it herding cats. The goofy thing about Blogger is, you pretty much have to do your updates gradually and publicly as there's no way to save things behind the curtain for a big unveiling. So, if you notice some weird twitches and tinkering going on, you're right. And there will be a lot more. I have plans. Big plans. And just enough OCD to persist in getting things in order.

DIY Stuff to make, eat, and grow
See my index of projects and ideas from this site | Empress of Dirt

Do you think anyone ever really made one of these?
FUN! Make This Squirrel Lamp! | Root Simple

Garden Art/Junk/Whimsy
Margo has oodles of ideas for you at RoboJunker.com and on her journal | Margo's Junkin Journal

Explore cyber Canada
Canada Blog Hop | Gardening and more | Crafty Gardener

Smart Trick
Keep sliced apple from going brown | @ Home With Real Food

Wakey Wakey
Train Yourself to Become a Morning Person and Test If You’re a Real Lark or Night Owl | Lifehacker

Plastics. Sigh.
Plastic Pollution in the Oceans is Causing Problems for Whales, too. | TreeHugger

Love Life
the dhlovelife show | Darrl Hannah's short videos are wonderful

Let me have my eggos!
Urban Garden? Check. Now, Chickens. | Green.blogs.nytimes

Osprey catches fish | Arkive: Images of life on earth
The big one doesn't get away...

Foxes are such elegant jumpers, with or without trampolines...

Jump high and delve deep, my dear-i-os!

Soap Making. Seriously.

2012-02-09T05:00:00.000-05:00

If you had told me two years ago that I would become obsessed with soap making, I would have said:

Soap making? Seriously? I had zero interest.

And now I say:

Soap making. Seriously! It's addictive.

And now I know why so many people start cottage businesses selling their soaps: because they can't stop making them. There are endless possibilities for recipes, qualities, consistencies, lathers, scents, styles, and more. Great Cakes Soapworks is a great example.

Me, I like plain, unscented soap and shampoo bars. I'm next going to try making some skin lotions.

I made my first batch of soap in 2010 and they were really nice.. It's taken all this time to use them up and have an excuse to make more.

This week I made some olive oil soap, a multi-oil soap, and shampoo bars, devising my own recipes with supplies I had on hand. I did more researching and improved my methods since the last time I posted about it, so I thought I'd record my updates. I'll need to refer to them when I run out of soap WAY TOO LONG from now.

Fats and oils you can use include: olive oil, almond oil, rice bran oil, coconut oil, jojoba oil, castor oil, shea butter, coco butter, beeswax, lard, vegetable shortening....

Here's the process:

Supplies

digital kitchen scale (for measuring the oils and lye in ounces or grams)
cooking thermometer/timer (to monitor the temperatures of the lye solution and oil mixture)
2 cup pyrex measuring cup (for mixing lye)
2-3 quart stainless steel cooking pot (for melting fats and oils and blending soap mixture)
stainless steel stirring spoons
silicone loaf pan or 12-cup silicone muffin pan to use as soap molds (or glass or wood containers lined with freezer paper or cling wrap)
stick immersion hand blender (to combine the lye solution and oil mixture)
silicone spatula (to remove the soap mixture from the pot into the molds)
metal cooling racks (for curing the soaps, allowing air flow)
1 cup vinegar (lye is neutralized with vinegar)

Soap Materials

solid and liquid oils and fats (depends on recipe- see Resources below)
lye (sodium bicarbonate)
distilled water
scents, colours, herbs, etc. -optional - I don't use any

Basic Process

1. Protect eyes and wear gloves. Measure lye into distilled water in pyrex cup and gently stir to dissolve. Lye + water = heat and fumes. Do this outside or under range hood with fan running. This mixture may go as high as 200F. It takes about 30-45 minutes for the temperature to drop to the desired 100-110F. Place stir spoon and thermometer in vinegar cup between uses to neutralize any lye on them.

2. Measure oils (hard and soft) into stainless steel cooking pot. A digital scale lets you measure one item, reset the scale to tare, and then continue measuring until you've got everything you need.

3. On very low heat, gently warm the oils until the solids have melted. Don't let the temperature get higher than 130F. This way it will cool to 110F around the same time the lye solution does. Remove from heat.

4. Have your molds ready. Silicone containers don't require any freezer paper or cling wrap.

5. Have the stick blender ready. When the lye solution and oils are both around 110F, gently pour the lye solution into the pot of oils and start blending on low speed. Keep the tip of the blender against the bottom of the pot or it will splatter. The lye is still active (and will remain so for weeks) and will burn if it touches your skin

6. Blend for a few seconds, stop and stir, blend again. The soap mixture will become opaque and reach trace, often within a minute or two. You know you have trace when you can stir the soap and it is just thick enough to sit on itself, without being as thick as pudding.

7. Pour into molds and cover with a towel to slow the temperature drop.

8. Around 24 hours later, it should be hard enough to cut into bars.

9. Place on cooling racks to air dry for 4-6 weeks, allowing time for the lye to neutralize.

recent soap experiments

Helpful Resources
MMS Lye Calculator | enter the oils you're using and it tells you how much lye you will need
Miller's Homemade Soap Pages | tons of information and recipes
CanWax | Canadian source for soap making supplies
Soap Center | recipe ideas

Books
Smart Soapmaking: The Simple Guide to Making Traditional Handmade Soap
Creative Soap Making

Tea Time :: Garden Art

2012-02-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Source: Street Art Utopia

Source: Garden Whimsies by Mary

Via: WelchWrite.com

Via: Satori In The Garden

Source: PatandPaulGoTravelling.blogspot.com
See more of this garden full of teapots here | Otago Daily Times

Source:auntisocial Etsy Shop

My index of garden art / junk / shabby chic /accoutrements / whimsy | Ideas for the taking
Garden art forums, ideas, instructions | It's a creative world out there.

Tea time, anyone?

Are you sure you want a Kindle? Really?

2012-02-07T05:29:00.000-05:00

Yes! Because my expectations were tame.

When I started writing eBooks a few months ago, I finally bought a Kindle. I wanted to be able to test my books out firsthand, plus I was pretty sure I'd like reading this way.

And I was right.

What I like about my Kindle

It's light weight: 6 ounces (170 grams). It might sound funny but I find it hard to hold heavy books, particularly when I'm relaxing in bed.
I can adjust the type size. The screen is pleasant to read.
I can read PDF files when I set it to horizontal view.
For some reason I can read at a much faster pace than I do with paper books.
It holds a lot of books, which makes it easy to read several books concurrently, the way I liked to with paper books.
It remembers where I left off in each book and opens to that page when I return.
It's not an iPad. I specifically wanted to keep my book reading experience separate from the internet and a computer. I don't want to feel tempted to check email or feeds.
One-click book downloads from Amazon go licketysplit.
The device stays charged a long time. If you turn off the WiFi, it stays charged a really long time (weeks, or perhaps a month).

What I would like improved

The page turning buttons work fine when I'm holding the unit with two hands but I find it difficult to press them when I'm reading one-handed. This is a pretty picky complaint coming from the lazy in-bed reader who loves to read herself to sleep. But, since we're so close to perfection, why not go all the way? Easier one-handed operation would be awesome.
The power on/off button is really lame. It takes me longer to ensure the device is truly turned off than to perform any other function on it.
Lots of books are still not available in eBook format or are overpriced if they are.

Surprisingly Okay

I bought the basic low-end unit, without a keyboard and that's been just fine. There's an onscreen keyboard for typing, which I only need when creating new book folders. In Canada, the cheapest Kindle you can get is ad-free.

Why I'm not an ideal Amazon customer

I have dozens of books on my device and so far all of them have been free. I can also borrow eBook from libraries.
I subscribe to the RSS feeds of free Kindle book listings and pounce when something interesting shows up.
Amazon seems to use Kindle book price drops as traffic bait and sometimes the books are only free for minutes or hours at the most. You snooze, you lose. So far I'm winning.
Kindle covers are ridiculously expensive (and not included with the device) so I sewed my own.

What I didn't anticipate

Trying free books has opened me up as a reader, introducing me to new authors.
Free eBooks are not locked and therefore can be transferred freely between devices including computers. You can also download Kindle software onto your PC and read the books there (free or paid).
The current influx of eBooks and the ability to self-publish has really cracked the book world wide open. The quality is all over the map but I love a free, uncensored market, warts and all.

Other observations

I used to be a book hoarder. At some point I realized that for me it was a form of pride: Wow, look at all the books I have! I must be learned or something! Now I'm a less-is-more girl. Read what you love and move on. See how many books I don't have? Aren't I sexy and minimalist and mysterious? Okay, don't answer that.
Most of the books I have hung onto are reference books for gardening and writing. I could only see going paperless with the gardening books if they were available for the iPad. Not that I have one, but they really need a full-colour, full-size device for proper reading. So for now, it's paper books for them.

My ideal device of the future

I want a device that adapts to what I'm using it for (morphs or is a hologram) instead of having so many different devices.
I want to be able to freely toggle between reading a book and hearing the audio version of it, all for one low price.
I would love to be able to read picture books and magazines in full colour but in something as lightweight as the Kindle.
I'd love a voice-command search feature to quickly look up any information in my library (or have it recommend a book that matches my query).
...

Summary

If you just want to read books on a lightweight device without internet access or interruptions, it's great. (Technically, there is internet access on the device but, besides downloading books, it's really archaic.)
If you're not a lazy old dog like me and don't mind holding a heavier device, a full tablet is perhaps a better choice.

Possum Facts That Will Make You Think Twice (EEK)

2012-02-06T10:06:00.000-05:00

Here's some Monday morning trivia for you. The word of the day is bifurcated.

1. Our compost possum has left the Empire. I think she wanted to finish her sleep during the day and moved on at night.

2. Possums have opposable thumbs which makes them able to climb just about anything = I didn't have to worry that she was stuck in the composter against her will.

3. Male possums have bifurcated (two pronged) penises. If I'm remembering right, I also read years ago that Spock (Star Trek) has the same attribute. And that's all I know about Star Trek!

4. Female possums have two uteruses.

5. I guess #3 makes sense when you know #4. Talk about co-operative evolution!

Who knew?

Carry on.

linky dinks #109: Never Stop Fighting The Man

2012-02-05T11:20:00.003-05:00

Hello my dear birds,

My current collection of linky dinks was getting a bit bulky so I thought I'd better send it off to you.

I keep seeing these vegetable growing stands and the more I think about it, the more I like them. I'm going to try using some over my raised beds where it's a bit too sunny. This way the climbers will be supported but the veggies below won't dry out so fast. I'm now gardening on sand and the water just vanishes. What a contrast to my old clay garden!

[Floridavegetablegarden.com]

Oy. I've never used Miracle-Gro and this makes me even happier about that.
Another reason not to use Scott's Miracle-Gro. | Our Happy Acres

Food Storage Ideas Without Using A Fridge
It Will Taste Better, May Even last Longer, And Reduce Your Energy Bills | TreeHugger

Money / The Great Run Around
I'm sure most of us can relate to this story (funny, true, and so...banky):
Banks taketh, but don't giveth | New York Times

OMG: School Board Installs Spyware on Free Laptops and Views Kids In Their Homes
I must have blocked this out of my mind when it hit the news two years ago. I think the school board officials involved should be locked up for a very long time. It's a jaw dropper.
Robbins v. Lower Merion School District | Wikipedia

Free web-based service
If this, then that | Put the internet to work for you by creating tasks that fit this simple structure: If THIS, then THAT. There's oodles of possibilities. For example, when new free eBooks are listed on Amazon, I tell it to send me an email notice so I can get them before they disappear (free books are often only free for a brief amount of time). I can also tell it to place my tweets in my Google calendar, keeping a fun timeline of my activities (If THIS --I tweet, then THAT, put the tweet in my calendar). You can choose from the library of items already setup at the site, or you can create your own. Fun and helpful.

Survey of Non-Religious Parents
It amazes me how many people connect being non-religious and/or atheist with immorality when, on the contrary, there's no evidence to support such an opinion. Many non-religious people identify themselves as humanists*.// If you are a non-religious parent, you might want to participate in this (anonymous) survey:
Take the survey here | Wendy Thomas Russell
*Humanism and Its Aspirations | American Humanist Association

Snoring Dormouse
This guy is sound asleep!

The Brooklyn Grange: NYC's Biggest Rooftop Farm

The Brooklyn Grange: NYC's Biggest Rooftop Farm from SkeeterNYC on Vimeo.

A rabbit who herds sheep:

If you like funny, sweet, and weird animal stories like I do, I keep a round up of them here. You will be charmed.

Be free, my sweet birds! Be free!

How I Battle Insomnia and Win

2012-02-03T07:30:00.000-05:00

Let's cut to the chase: I use podcasts to combat insomnia--and it works! I avoided even trying this for years because I found the combination of technology and bedtime to be un-aesthetically pleasing. I preferred to keep tv's, computers, music players, and radios out of the bedroom.

But then I came into an age where I couldn't get back to sleep.

And now I'm a convert.

I'm usually awakened in the middle of the night by a noise (a certain beloved person snoring who shall remain nameless, or me, talking in my sleep!) or, less often, light (lightning flashing through the window, or the digital clock display). I do wear a sleep mask but it always wanders off my head. I'd try noise-cancelling headphones if they weren't so bulky (and expensive).

I would never consider using a medication to sleep, so that's out of the question.

I love podcasts in waking life, so I decided to try using them as sleep aids.

To fall asleep at night, I use my iPod and an earbud and play something I really want to hear (this is key). Oddly enough, my desire to stay awake and listen seems to completely backfire and I am asleep within ten minutes. I know this because the next day when I listen to the same podcast, I can tell where I drifted off and stopped hearing it.

My husband actually uses the reverse strategy: he plays recordings of things he really doesn't care for, with pleasant, monotone voices, and that knocks him right out. I, on the other hand, seem to have to want to hear the content. Whatever works, I say!

Now, if I wake up in the middle of the night, I just turn the iPod back on and play something else I've been looking forward to, having downloaded and planned out my top picks during the day. Without fail, the podcasts lulls me back to sleep, tuning out the snoring, giving more rest.

Buy a used or refurbished iPod on eBay. I bought a 5th generation one because I like the shape and size, and I like to have an FM radio as well as music and podcast storage. And the built in video camera is rather cool.
Download iTunes to your computer. Search the audio podcasts. They're free and you don't need a user ID to download them.
Try out some podcasts and subscribe to your favourites.
Sync your iPod with iTunes daily to have fresh material ready for sleep time.
Sweet dreams, everyone!

Here's some current favourites (awake or asleep):

Homefries
Joy the Baker Podcast | BBFs Tracy and Joy discuss just about anything. Slow-paced but unexpectedly enjoyable. Dry humour.
The Simple Mom Podcast | Simple Mom Tsh Oxenrieder talks with various guests. I enjoy the candor.
The Because Show | Jerilyn, Susan and Amy: three working moms who don’t talk about work and don’t talk about being moms. What? Faster-paced and funny.
We're About To Be Friends |Joy the Baker interviews someone she admires.

CBC
CBC: Spark Plus | Nora Young helps you navigate your digital life by connecting you to fresh ideas in surprising ways.
Quirks and Quarks | Science, nature, life. The quirks of the expanding universe to the quarks within a single atom... and everything in between. If you've forgotten how incredible the world is, tune in.

Slate
Slate's podcasting guide | It appears I'm a Slate podcast junkie. Here's some of my faves:
Slate Magazine Daily Podcasts |
Slate's Culture Gabfest | Slate.com's cultural critics Stephen Metcalf, Dana Stevens, and Julia Turner debate the week in culture, from highbrow to pop.
Slate's Political Gabfest |
Slate's Spoiler Specials | Slate's Spoiler Specials are not reviews of current movies, but "postviews" -- audio critiques meant to be played AFTER you've seen the film.
Double X Podcasts |
Manners for the Digital Age | Slate's tech columnist Farhad Manjoo and Dear Prudence advice columnist Emily Yoffe debate how the age-old rules of civility apply to a social dilemma caused by new technology.

Skeptics, Rational Thinking, Humanism, Atheism
Point of Inquiry | A podcast from the Center for Inquiry featuring leading minds of the day including Nobel Prize-winning scientists, public intellectuals, social critics and thinkers, and renowned entertainers. Each episode combines incisive interviews, features and commentary focusing on the intersection of science and belief: religion, human values and the limits of knowledge.
Rationally Speaking | New York City Skeptics
Reasonable Doubts | Reasonable Doubts takes an informative and humorous look at religion from a freethinking perspective; offering news and commentary of interest to skeptics, atheists, agnostics, humanists, courageous religious believers looking for a challenge and freethinkers of all persuasions.
Skepticality - Science and Revolutionary Ideas

Twit tv
The Social Hour | Social web addicts Sarah Lane and Amber MacArthur have teamed up to create "The Social Hour," your source for the best social tools, news, and fascinating folks building the next generation of the Internet.
Tech News Daily | The tech news of the day.

Freakonomics Radio | Myth-busting with facts.

Grammar Girl | Quick and Dirty Tips: Whether English is your first language or your second language, these grammar, punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer.

I also enjoy BBC Outlook, and NPR Fresh Air.

My ear buds runneth over!

Favourite Podcasts

2012-02-02T10:14:00.000-05:00

Here's some current favourites (awake or asleep):

I use my 5th generation iPod (purchased refurbished on eBay) and iTunes. Podcasts are free on iTunes and do not require an account.

I use podcasts to (successfully) deal with insomnia. I also love to listen when I'm fully awake.

My Newest Book

2012-02-01T15:06:00.000-05:00

Earn money teaching Fabric Dyeing 101
I've just completed the third (and final?) book in my Fabric Dyeing 101 series.

Fabric Dyeing 101 Workshop Planning Guide tells everything I know about running successful, money-earning fabric dyeing workshops based on the methods shown in my first book, Fabric Dyeing 101.

When I had my hand-dyed fabric business, the most lucrative part of the business was teaching fabric dyeing. Not only did I earn an excellent income ($250+ per half day workshop), but the rest of my business flourished as well.

This eBook is in PDF format and can be viewed using Adobe Reader. [Most computers already have this program but if you need it, it's a free download here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/]
Come on over to Fabric Dyeing 101 for more details or order the book through PayPal for 99 cents:
As soon as I receive notice of your payment from PayPal, I email the PDF file to you.

My Other Books

Fabric Dyeing 101: Simple Instructions For Beautiful Fabrics For Those Who Wish To Be Both Frugal and Gentle On The Earth
by Melissa J. Will

Everything you need to know to dye gorgeous hand-dyed fabrics at home in a frugal and environmentally-sensitive manner.

eBook in PDF format (uses Adobe Reader)

Buy it through PayPal for $2.99 US:

More information and table of contents here. Print copies also available.

Hand-Dyes For Sale: How I Turned My Hobby Into A Business

by Melissa J. Will

How my obsession with colour and fabrics took over our home and turned into a bustling home-based mail-order business and more. Careful what you wish for!

eBook available in all formats.

Download it FREE at Smashwords.

Snow Shovel Time Lapse

2012-01-31T08:27:00.000-05:00

I decided to test out the time lapse feature on my (now old) camera. We finally have some snow, though it's due to melt again today (high of 10C/50F). So many reports of an odd winter this year: either extra mild (here and throughout eastern Canada and the U.S.) or extra snowy and cold (Iceland). We've had just a few days with snow on the ground, and most with the green grass exposed. I'm still hoping for a chance to use my snow shoes before spring.

Recently my mother's peach tree started to bud and there were reports of irises in bloom nearby. I hope this warm/cold ping pong game doesn't ruin our chances for fruit this year. If the buds get frost damaged, it's usually game over.

Next time lapse plans:
-working in the garden: a whole day in a minute or two of total footage
-outside the chipmunk's hideout (he lives in the wall of our house). The little guy is very entertaining.
-the spring bird migrations: if I could video the hummingbirds, that would be brilliant. Last year there were hundreds.

I need a bigger memory card, a fully charged battery, the tripod, and we're ready to roll.

linky dinks #108: it's in the math

2012-01-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hello dawlinks,

For those of you who read this from Google Reader or other such appendages, please be advised that my template has changed and Her Majesty is now here.

Also, anyone viewing from a feed reader may have seen some wild things fly by in recent days as I was updating the site. I was looking at years worth of unpublished blog posts and occasionally hit 'publish' in error. If so, I hope you were amused.

I also started gathering some old material into indexes for my own reference and yours. There is a lot of material (online and off) when you've been blogging for 12 years....More on this soon.

In recent weeks I burned out an entire lobe of my brain while trying to find a new blog name and theme but, since the internet has confirmed that none of us are truly original and there is nothing new under the sun, I gave up and decided to carry on here for eternity instead. And why not? As Manley so aptly put it, all that really matters is good content. Except he said it in a better way that kind of stopped me in my tracks, as a valued spouse is apt to do, since I aspire to do so much better than I do.

I also settled on a tag line that, I think, encompasses what I do here:

Empress of Dirt: My garden, my loves, my word!

Phew. Glad we worked through that crisis. Now let's get on with it, shall we?

Here's some goodies for you.

Earthly Love

I really enjoyed the series Living With Ed. Now Ed Begley, Jr. is launching a new web-based show, On Begley Street. You can sign up for the latest news here. Follow Ed on Twitter here. He's a great tweeter: funny and informative.

Food
Make your steel cut oats ahead of time for the week | The Kitchn.com

Three Steps to Less Junk Mail
Every year, 85,000,000,000 catalogs, credit card offers, and other ads are sent to households. It requires literally 100 million trees' worth of paper, and much of it is unwanted and discarded.
We can do something about it! Try our two-minute, three-step plan. | The Green Life

Math Tricks
I really enjoy watching videos on math tricks and tips. There's so many cool ones that I wish I'd known when I was a kiddo. I think they reinforce how totally awesome numbers really are.

This one was new to me:

Optical Illusion
Optical illusion - your eyes will turn a negative into a positive image | Gizmodo

Vertical Gardening
How much can you grow?

Apartment tomatoes and Vertical veg balcony garden / Verticalveg.org

Let's end on a funny one. I remember seeing this on the news when it happened. Still makes me laugh...

Smarty Bum Dog

Now go dig up something fine!

xo

linky dinks #107: Enchanted Bird Landing

2012-01-25T16:11:00.000-05:00

Hello sweet birds,

I thought I'd take a break from book writing to share some linky dinkage.

First off, I love coincidences. Some believe it's destiny, others think it's, well, coincidence. I think they're totally fun. You can read and submit coincidences here:
Cambridge Coincidences [Cambridge Coincidences] I submitted two of the best ones I can recall.

Vertical Gardening
Nice way to keep tall vine plants accessible for picking--see the photo of the raised bed with bean stands [Veggie Gardener]

Lovely play areas. If you want an alternative to mountains of plastic toys, this is inspiring. [Apartment Therapy]

I am a lousy copywriter - David Ogilvy. I think there's good advice in this letter for blog writers... [Letters of Note]

Here's part three of this most enjoyable series:

Bird steals the show: forward this next one to 1:25 and enjoy (or play the whole thing if you love bluegrass):

[Watch it here.]

How sweet was that?

Now for some OCD Fuel. I got an invite to Wunderkit. I already mentioned a while back that I love Wunderlist. This looks really fun for project management:

Alrighty, my dears, land where you want to be.

xo

Ruth Stout's Garden

2012-01-22T09:44:00.000-05:00

[via Cold Anter Farm]

I loved this for a whole bunch of reasons. Here's a few:

-simple, simple successful gardening
-non-conformity
-the descriptions of Ruth's parents and grandfather
and
-gardening naked

Listen carefully to what she says. It's all you may ever need to know.

[Ruth Stout-Wikipedia]

[Another inspiring garden film: Carol Bowlby and her urban garden]

linky dinks #106: Names and Name Calling

2012-01-19T13:45:00.003-05:00

Hello my beloved cream puffs,

This is the first edition of Linky Dinks for the new year. (Wow!) I've been busy writing a third eBook as well as contemplating some changes to this cyber Empire.

I'm itching to swing the blog in a whole new direction. Just have to decide which one! And that leads me to this first video.

Ever try and find a new blog or domain name? It's pretty much a guarantee that anything pleasing or catchy is already taken. The worst is when someone has nabbed a great name but the blog is sitting dormant. Bah! Good names are hard to find now. I might have to resort to numbers and random letters... Natalie Tran sums it all up nicely, with humour:

More Fibonacci for you lovers of numbers and patterns and nature:

After watching the crow snowboarding ("crowboarding"), I'm hoping more people realize that animals are indeed sentient beings and then some. We used to have a cat that pulled so many pranks on us, I swear she did everything but snort with laughter. Here's a pigeon that is good at math [read it here].

Gorgeous photo of snow goose landing [see it here]

Let's pause to reflect:

"You don't really grow up until you lose your second parent." Roseanne Cash quoting John Kennedy, Jr.

Now for a simple, clever idea I could have used a lot in the past:

Use a Dustpan to Fill Containers That Don’t Fit in Your Sink [see it here]

In Canada, it's very popular to go to "the cottage" in the summer, hang out, swim, goof off. I stopped loving cottage life when boating and sea-dos became so popular that you couldn't be anywhere without the sound and smell of engines roaring. Bah! Apparently I share this sentiment with whales (except how the heck can they escape the noise?):

Underwater Noise Disturbs Whales 120 Miles Away [read it here]

Snowflakes Always interesting, always beautiful. [snowcrystals.com]

Look Out!!!
An insect so large you can feed it carrots [see it here, eating a carrot, of course]

And finally, I found this very moving. We've come so far yet we have so much further to go...

[Watch it here.]

Compost Surprise

2012-01-17T16:45:00.000-05:00

Some people refuse to save their compost because they're afraid of attracting vermin. Meanwhile, tons of fruit and veg scraps unnecessarily go to landfill sites.

While I'd love it if way more people did save their compost, even if they don't use it to garden, I have a hunch this post won't help the cause. Similarly, some people fear gardening because they might encounter a [insert name of feared insect here--worm, bee, centipede...]. It's pretty much impossible to reason with phobias.

Dear little freak that I am, I am intrigued by the whole cycle of life/food chain/gardening experience. Even when I get spooked like I did today...

These videoes are really short: I didn't realize the camera was set to time lapse:

Arg! Put the lid back on, Lady!

She's just a young possum. I assume because she climbed up and in, she can climb up and out. (Anyone know?) Or so I'm hoping. But it's pouring rain today, so for now Larry Two can rest. I'm hoping she'll leave when it's dark tonight. And I, of course, will continue to compost always.

PS: This reminds me of the young raccoon, Larry, that used to sleep on our porch swing and, of course, my beloved prince PeeBee.While an invasion of vermin would not be okay, there's plenty of garden encounters with critters that are quite endearing.

Kiss my nose!

Update: After writing this post, I learned some freaky things about possums...

Repurposed Rake Heads

2012-01-16T20:04:00.000-05:00

Make use of old tools, inside and out:

[images via The Urban Homestead]

I keep my less useful ones in the tool graveyard.

Crow Snowboarding aka Crowboarding

2012-01-13T23:26:00.004-05:00

linky dinks #105: The End?

2011-12-30T19:12:00.000-05:00

Hello my dear starlings,

Here we are at the end of another year. It seems not so long ago that I remember saying to my best childhood friend, "Can you imagine what it will be like when it's 1984?" Vrooom! And now we're entering 2012. It all races by so very fast.

Here's some goodies for you. First, some mid-flight beauty:

[Source]

Nine stubborn brain myths that just won't die
For example:
Myth 1: Left-Brained People Are Organized, Right-Brained People Are Creative
Myth 3: You Only Use 10% of Your Brain

[Read all of them here]

Remove excess fat from soups with ice cubes [read it here]

Archaeology - Top Discoveries of 2011 [see them here]

Couple tries to go waste free. Why do we have so much waste built in to how we go about our daily lives? [read it here]

Grow greens and more in the snow [read it here]

We've had lots of Snowy Owls in our area. How about you?

And now, some inspiration for those who love words--yes WORDS--like I do:

I've now been blogging for 12 years. Seems it's time again for something different and new....We'll see.

Happy 2012 to you!

Doodling in Math: Spirals, Fibonacci, and Being a Plant [1 of 3]

2011-12-23T11:21:00.000-05:00

On the beside table

2011-12-15T11:16:00.000-05:00

Hello, It's me again: passionate and avid reader yet pathetic reviewer. So instead of attempting to describe them, I'm just going to make it simple.

1) I really enjoyed and could not stop reading:

how to get a girl pregnant - Karleen Pendleton Jimenez

and

An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life - Mary Johnson

Seriously, could not put them down and devoured both of them with pleasure.

2) Also liked:

The Girl's Guide to Homelessness: A Memoir - Brianna Karp

Bossypants - Tina Fey

3) Glad I read these but now know that these people led very painful lives (and I felt like I was suffering along by reading about them):

Sophia Tolstoy: A Biography - Alexandra Popoff
How we ever got Anna Karenina from such complicated and seemingly neurotic lives, I will never know.

Lives Like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family's Feuds - Lyndall Gordon
This book is rich in details about the lives of Emily and her family. Thank god these people didn't have the internet or cell phones. Emily and her family would have probably sent about 35,000 text messages a month between them. For better or worse, I no longer find Dickinon's poems to be so enjoyable after reading what was going on behind the scenes when she wrote them.

4) Here's one that people kept recommending to me and I did not really enjoy. I thought the topic was just far too ambitious to ever succeed in this format:

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

Apologies to those of you who loved it. I tried.

As always, please recommend anything you've really loved reading recently.

linky dinks #103

2011-12-11T20:31:00.000-05:00

Hello my loves,

I have this never ending desire to organize my linky dinks into sets or groupings or other logical pairs, simply for the sake of order (three cheers for OCD!) but alas, I do not. Because really, the common thread, with few exceptions, is that they all contain some interestingness and varying degrees of awesomeness. Or simple usefulness.

Ever since this interweb got into high gear, it is truly incredible how many spectacular things we can read about (and see) on any given day.

I find it increasingly difficult to remember life before this....Can you?

Here's this week's goodies. Enjoy, my dear-e-o's.

Crash reverses woman's paralysis [read it here]

Totally cute felted lion [see it here]

Cook Pasta with Cold Water and a Frying Pan [see it here]
Freeze Cooked Pasta to Have Quick Meals on Hand [read it here]

Gorgeous star photography [see it here] [Landscappe astrophotography tutorial]

Interview with Jennifer Polle, creator of one of my favourite recordings to relax to: Clearing Emotional Blocks [interview] [Jennifer's site]

33 awesome birds of prey [see them here]

Slate's Best Books of 2011 [see the list here]

Completely Knitted Hotel Room Keeps You Cozy at Brighton, England's Hotel Pelirocco [see it here]

The Astonishing Visual Lists of Autistic Savant Gregory Blackstock From owls to lighthouses, or what a sixty-something retired pot washer can teach us about art and love. [see them here]

Pet bird shares spaghetti with dog:

Who Do You Love?

I thought that was sweet.

Be well my little speckled hatchlings.

glimpses #98: freaky eyes

2011-12-09T14:49:00.001-05:00

S/he was up the wires near the road, fixated on something in the grass.

S/he flies down to eat the roadkill, occasionally looking up at me.

I drive a little closer and s/he looks at me with these freaky eyes:

Yikes!

Then s/he resumes her/his meal. Nom. Nom. Nom.

What was with those eyes? Do they have extra eyelids or what? S/he's otherwise so very handsome.

Eventually s/he flies up to the wire again, hoping I will fly away too.

And I did. Good strategy.

My Newest eBook Is Available (and FREE!)

2011-12-05T11:57:00.001-05:00

For those of you who have visited my other site, Fabric Dyeing 101, over the years, you may have the read my initial blog posts on the story of my hand-dyed fabric business. I posted it to share the behind-the-scenes experience of running an art-based business at home.

I had posted the story in installments but I left out a few major details and it read like an unintentional cliffhanger. Now that some time has passed, I feel like I can freely tell the whole story. And I only had to change one person's name!

This free eBook tells the story of how my desire to make a simple quilt turned into a bustling hand-dyed fabric business.While it's not a business how-to, you may get some ideas about how you want to develop and run your own craft or art-based business after reading about my struggles and successes.

Hand-Dyes For Sale: How I Turned My Hobby Into A Business

by Melissa J. Will

Have you ever wanted to turn a favorite craft or art-based hobby into a business? Melissa reveals both frustrating and funny experiences with her hand-dyed fabric business. What started as a simple, online shop soon filled her days (and nights) with new challenges, opportunities, and unexpected visitors.

eBook (free!)

Available for the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, Palm, others.

[Download it free at Smashwords] [99 cents at Amazon]

glimpses #97: the flood

2011-12-04T15:39:00.000-05:00

Here's the river on the day before the epic rainfall:

Here it is the next day, taken from a little further back. The river edges are way under water:

And here's the park the next day after the water receded a few feet:

It looks pretty enough to go kayaking through the soccer field.

The next day, the grass was visible again. Crazy, eh?